Justin Moore made a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the second half and sixth-seeded Villanova escaped a huge upset by beating 24-point underdog DePaul 58-57 on Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.
Jalen Terry’s pull-up jumper gave the Blue Demons (3-29) a 57-55 lead with 1:13 left, but DePaul could not pad its lead. Villanova was down two with 17 seconds left and came out of a timeout with a play to get Moore a good look from 3, and he swished the shot.
Villanova’s Justin Moore drills a CLUTCH 3-pointer to seal the game against DePaul and advance in the Big East Tournament
DePaul rushed down the court with no timeouts left, but couldn’t get off a shot, turning the ball over and ending its season with a 20-game losing streak.
The Wildcats (18-14) entered the Big East Tournament desperately in need of victories to pad their NCAA Tournament resume in their second season under coach Kyle Neptune.
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Terry finished with 18 points to lead 11th-seeded DePaul.
The Blue Demons endured maybe the worst season in Big East history, becoming the first team to go 0-20 in the conference during the regular season. Coach Tony Stubblefield was fired in late January and replaced by assistant Matt Brady, who finished his stint without a win.
The Wildcats went up 52-50 on Eric Dixon’s 3 with 4:43 left in the second half, but Elijah Fisher muscled his way inside for a layup to tie it with 3:25 remaining.
Dixon scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats.
Da’Sean Nelson put DePaul up 55-52 on a three-point play with 1:52 left, but Dixon responded with a straight-on 3 to tie it moments later.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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